Separating solid materials by suspension



May 18, 1954 M. DRU

SEPARATING SOLID MATERIALS BY SUSPENSION Filed Aug. 10, 1950 4Sheets-Sheet l IE l2: 2.

Z' N VEN r02 Mann D20 By WvM 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 M. DRU

SEPARATING SOLID MATERIALS BY SUSPENSION Filed Aug. 10, 1950 May 18,1954 INVENTOR Mantel. D490 ATTORNEYS May 18, M D

SEPARATING SOLID MATERIALS BY SUSPENSION Filed Aug. 10 1950 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Mann. Dan

M n M firm/avers May 18, 1954 M. DRU

SEPARATING SOLID MATERIALS BY SUSPENSION Filed Aug. 10, 1950 4SheetsSheet 4 IN VENTOR Mfincn .Dlzu

ATTORNEYS lower end of "the "casing Patented May 18, 1954 UNITEDsir-Ares mum 132,678,727 LYSEPARA'EINGZ s oLnfMA-rmtmlis BY -SUSPENSIONApplieation August-10, 1950,-Serial No;--17'8;681 "Ulaimspriority,applieatio'nTi'ance -August 17, 1949 7 0laims. (61. 209-1725) lidmateerence to *apparatus for separatin "rials "of different specific-=gravities by means or ia susperi'sion.

@One object or the present invention is to nfovide==novel and improveda'ppar-atu's 'ior separating solid materials of different 'spee'i ficg'fav itie's *by' means of a suspension-as for 'exampladn eoal washinginstallationsfior separating slate,' sand or other heavy constituentsfrom the coal.

Anotherobject of theprese'nt inventionds'f'to p'rovi'de "apparatus, ascharae'teri'zedabove, in-- eluding a sedimentation vat into and -throughwhich thedense liquid flows; an inclined annular easing -positionedatone side of the "va't with the forming the bottom portion-of the-vatitoreceive the heavy-settled solids,

and lifting means mounte'din the inclined easingforraising the soli-dmaterialup to 'an evaduation "duct formed in the-upper "portion "of thec'asing 'so that the solid material Will b'e evacuated therethrouh. v 7

Another object or the invention isfto zprovid'e apparatus, ascharacterized above, 'vvhei'ein' the meo'hanical 'partsare soconstructed "as to "min-L mize the abrasive action of the dense liquid.

Another object of the present in-v-erition-i'sto provide apparatus, asCharacterized above, "in whih the lifting means c'on'ip'r ises a "paddleWheeL-th'e bearings and control-mechanism :or whih are 'protected'fromthe "dense liquid with- "out the-necessity of using s'ealirfg joints.

Another object or the invention is to provide apparatus, as"char'a'cte'rizze'd above, which the paddle =Wheel' blades ar'eprovidedvl iith means-to eliminate lrietioncaused by the 'solid-mate'r-ial as it ls'ra-i'sed bythe'avhel arid 't'o pi eventpie'c'es df'metal scrap from bee'ori iing "wedged between the paddle wheel-arid Vthe casing.

knot/her bee't "of the invention is to reviee apparatus, as"characterized above, in which means ar'e provided .toprevent the"crushing "of large pieces-inf light materiabas. theyfaree'vaeuatadev'er the overflow sill dfthe vat.

Another object of the invention. is: to. provide apparatus, ascharacterized above, in whieh means are provided to automaticallyadfiustthe specific g1lavity'-oithe==dense liquid at'-tliezoverflow'sillaof the V8=t,'-WheI-by09131330111183! bahad over'cth'e :sinking of the lrfeavy products.

atfurthenobject of the invention: is to ":prev-ide apparatus foreeparating solidmaterial :of difierenttdensities -by 1 means of a i-suspension, is simple and inexpensive in constructionam! rugged-and:eflieient inoperation.

Otherzobiectsandiadvantagesof the irlveri-tion willriappear 11in the:fielrowings speeifieation'fwhen considered with '=acoorrxpanying ldi'awings, wherein:

J2 l 'i'g l -is a vertical, transvefsefs'etidn" embodiment er-a paratuseonstru'eted -in ance with the present invention; I

Fig; 2" is ase'c'tional -viw'takenon the IineSY Z Fig. 3 isa'see'ti'onalviewtaken (Julienne- 2 2 of' -Ei'g. l,"l'ooking'"totheleft;

Fig. 5 is "a longitudinal *setio'n'al view of "the va't in Fig. 1, andshowing apparatusier n= trifling '-the specific gravity of theiiqiiidin' the l3 lag. 6 is a e-agmemary, transverse "sjetrenai *vie'wof the apparatus'shovvrr in fg.f1-,-b1it=sii6wing'a modified form ofpaddl -wheel; r

s is'a view-similar to that smwn m i 'rgfia "butshowinga'travellingconveyor-beltsubstit d for the paddle Wheel for removing-the meme-r"solids.

m aceordancawith this mverit QnHerEe Hqufii and solid substanee'sofdifierentspeifibj vetiesare delivered to "a large tank or vsewherein aliquid level is maintainedan'dfthe heavy preaucts ran to the bottom;"vvh'ile tl'ieFlighter mrdfductsare evacuated bybverflodiing'iviththeliquid. The dense liquid may b'e-a suspension, foi' example,- a mixture-0f fi'ne sadde s-water; The heavy p'rodusts,fwhich settleto the bottorn,are i-ei r ve 'fromthe tank by means of "wrotating paddleWheel-or'COhveYoi' mDuntedin nine 3 annular easing arranged at oneside othe tank. The invention also ermaesmeam "f'c'irkio'rhbhsating fordifierences in speeifib gravityof the dense liqiiidfat the overflow by'feeding tliedei'ise liquid-at different ahgl's'i 'nto the maihtaifik.

one embodiment of the"- ii.f1ven 'tion is shx wnii Figs. 1, '2 and '3,wherein the'dense *nqiifd the solid-material to be separated-are"delivered into agenerally rectangular sedimentation "t Hi-navi'n'gvertical side walls a g and 1 2. time an}: is shown as having aroundeibottofl'i l3 "vi/111611 inerges-intothe bottom portion drama;iilar easii'i'g'- M into'ivhich the heavy produts f tob'eevacuated'fi'om thetaiik. 'At'one'e'ridjof he tank'the dense liquidshown being de ivered fall into the bottom of the tank and in the bottomportion of the annular casing l4, are adapted to be evacuated from thetank by means of a rotating paddle wheel 24 mounted on a conical hubmember 25 and driven by a shaft 26 having a bearing 27 at the upper endof a conical housing 28 connected at its lower end to the bottom wall ofthe annular casing I 4. This arrangement is such that the bearing isabove the level of the dense liquid in the tank and is not subjected towear by granular products to be separated therefrom. Also, thearrangement avoids the necessity of using specially packed, water-tightbearings. The shaft 26 is adapted to be driven by any suitable powermeans. In this example, it is shown as having a worm wheel 29 driven bya Worm 30 on a shaft 3| carrying a pulley 32 adapted to be connected bya belt 33 to a pulley 3 also operated by the motor 23.

As clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the paddle wheel 24 has radial blades35 which are adapted to contact the bottom and outer walls of theannular casing and convey the separated heavy products from the bottomportion of the tank to an outlet opening 38 in the upper portion of theannular casing, above the level of the liquid in the tank It). Then, theseparated products are discharged through an outlet conduit or chute 31.The blades are shown as being perforated to permit the water to flowback into the tank as the material is being discharged. Also, each bladeis shown as having a pair of generally rectangular reinforcing cleats 38on its rear face, with the widest part of the cleats at the inner end ofthe blade. The cleated blades are radially removably mounted on the hubmember 25 between bracket members 39.

A drain nipple as is shown as being connected to the lower part of theannular casing I 4 to permit the bottom of the tank and the casing to becleaned out periodically. It is shown as being closed by a closure cover4!.

In Fig. 5, there is shown one embodiment of means to control thespecific gravity of unstable dense liquid in the vat, so that heavier orlighter solids may be recovered at the outlet sill. This may beaccomplished in various ways by measuring the density of the denseliquid at a given point in the vat near the level of the outlet sill andadjusting the angularity of the entering stream of dense liquid tochange the density of the liquid in the vat.

In the illustrated example, a continuous stream or flow of the denseliquid is removed from the vat just below the level of the sill througha sampling conduit 42 to a float chamber 43 having an open upper end anda restricted outlet opening at its lower end, as shown... so that itwill always be filled with liquid and the excess liquid will spill overthe top of it.

The overflow chamber 43 is mounted within and overflows into a largecontainer 44 which is closed at its upper end by a cover plate 45 andhas a large outlet 45 at the bottom to permit all of the overflowingliquid to drain out through a conduit 4! for subsequent re-use in thevat.

A sensitive float 48 having a vertical stem 49 is submerged in thetrapped liquid in the chamber 43. The stem :39 is guided by a pair ofverticaly spaced spider bearings 50 and 5! across the chamber 43 andcontainer 44. The upper end portion of the float stem carries a switchoperating element 52 coacting with spaced switch elements 53-54 of arelay 55 connected by conductors 56 -51 to a reversible servo-motor 58.

The servo-motor 58 is connected by a chain belt 59 to a pulley 60 whichoperates a crank arm 6| pivotally connected to one end of a link 62. Thelink is pivotally connected at its other end to a crank arm 63 rigidlyconnected to a pivotally mounted baflie or lip 54 extending below andacross the mouth of the nozzle IE to direct the stream of entering denseliquid into the vat at angles responsive to changes in th position .ofthe float 4-8. The arrangement is such that changes in the position ofthe float will close the circuit to the servo-motor and will maintainthe specific gravity of the dense liquid in the vat substantiallyconstant, at the overflow sill. The curved dotted lines in Fig. 5 showtwo angular directions of flow of the dense liquid longitudinally of thevat. The vectors s, g and, r represent the direction of flow of thestream of dense liquid, the direction of gravity and the resultant,respectively. The direction of the resultant r directly controls thespecific gravity of the dense liquid at the overflow sill. The higherthe angle of the stream, the greater will be th specific gravity of thedense liquid at the overflow sill.

In Fig. 6 there is shown a modification of the separator, especiallyadapted for use in separating solid matter which may contain scraps ofmetal, such as bolts and the like, which would otherwise choke up thepaddle wheel conveyor. In this modification, the annular casing I 4extends slightly beyond and below the bottom portion of the tank i6 andeach of the paddle wheel blades carries arc-shaped angle irons 65secured to their bottom and end edges to provide peripheral crowns onwhich the solid matter to be separated is caught and conveyed by therotating blades to an outlet conduit 66 which communicates with theannular casing adjacent to the inner end of the blades just above thelevel of the liquid in the tank. This arrangement permits the blades tocarry off all the solid matter and discharge it downwardly into theoutlet conduit.

In Fig. 7 there is shown another modified construction of the tank andthe paddle wheel casing. In that example, the paddle wheel is in theform of an annular cup 6i which is rectangular .in cross section anddivided into compartments by perforated radial plates 88 and thesecompartments are open at their inner ends to spill the solid matter inthe outlet conduit 69.

In Fig. 8 there is shown a modification of the arrangement forevacuating the material from the top of the tank over the outlet sill.In that modification, there is shown an endless flexible belt 10 trainedover wide pulleys H and 12 and having integral fins or blade members 13riding on the sill and arranged to convey the separated, light materialover the outlet sill of the tank. Otherwise, the construction may besimilar to that shown in any of the other modifications. Thisarrangement is desirable for handling large lumps of separated materialwhich would choke up a paddle wheel.

From the foregoing description, the operation of the separator will beclear to those skilled in the art. It is relatively simple inconstruction and will last much longer than ordinary separators whereinthe bearings for rotating the conveyors are submerged and are exposed towear or abrasion due to the particles in the liquid.

Obviously, the invention is not restricted to the particular embodimentthereof herein shown and described, but is capable of variousmodifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for separating solid materials having differentspecific gravities, comprising an elongated sedimentation tank forholding a body of dense liquid, said tank having an overflow sill alongone end, a chute for introducing the material to be separated into thetank, and means for introducing dense liquid into said tank to create astream of dense liquid flowing toward said overflow sill, whereby thelighter separated material will be evacuated over the overflow sill; aninclined open-top annular casing positioned at one side of said tankwith its lower end opening into and forming the bottom portion of thetank to receive the heavy settled material, said casing having an outletopening in its upper end portion above the liquid level in the tank, theside wall of the tank adjacent the annular casing acting as a bafliemember preventing the flow of the lighter material from the tank intothe casing; a hollow shaft housing extending upwardly from said casingto a point above the normal liquid level therein; a shaft rotatablymounted in said housing and extending in a direction perpendicular tothe bottom of said casing with its upper end extending through the upperend portion of said housing; a paddle wheel including a hub connected tothe upper end of said shaft and carrying a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced radially extending blades rotatably mounted insaid casing; and power means for rotating said shaft and said wheel forraising the heavy material settled in the bottom of the tank up to theoutlet opening in the casing for evacuation therethrough.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said paddle wheel is inthe form of an annular cup, generally rectangular in cross section andwherein said circumferentially spaced and radially extending blades areperforated plates which divide said annular cup into radialcompartments, said compartments being open at their inner ends.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of the paddle wheelblades carries an arcshaped angle iron secured to its bottom and endedges to provide a peripheral crown on which the settled solid materialis caught and conveyed by the rotating blades to the outlet opening inthe upper portion of the casing.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the lower portion of theannular casing extends slightly beyond and below the outer side wall ofsaid tank.

5. In apparatus for separating solid materials having different specificgravities by suspension. comprising a tank for holding a body of denseliquid, said tank having an overflow sill along one end; a chute forintroducing the material to be separated into the tank; and means forintroducing dense liquid in the form of a suspension into said tank tocreate a stream of dense liquid flowing toward said overflow sill; aspecific gravity measuring device for measuring the density of the denseliquid at the overflow sill; and means including a motor actuated bysaid specific gravity measuring device for varying the angular directionof flow of the stream of dense liquid across the tank in response tochanges in the measured density of the dense liquid.

-6. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 5, wherein said specific gravitymeasuring device includes a float chamber open at its upper end andhaving a restricted opening in its bottom end, a conduit connected tosaid chamber and to said tank at a point adjacent to the overflow sillto permit a continuous flow of dense liquid from said tank to saidchamber to always keep it filled; and a sensitive float having anelongated stem mounted in said chamber.

7. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 5, wherein said means forintroducing dense liquid into said tank comprises at least one conduithaving a wide nozzle and wherein said means for varying the angulardirection of flow of the stream of dense liquid across the tank includesa transverse bafile member pivotally mounted below said nozzle todeflect the stream of dense liquid as it emerges therefrom; a reversibleservo-motor operable in response to variations in the measured densityof the dense liquid at the overflow sill connected to move the bafliemember about its pivotal axis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,633,371 Coe June 21, 1927 1,710,568 Carl et a1 Apr. 23, 19291,887,239 Hansen Nov. 8, 1932 1,895,504 Wuensch Jan. 31, 1933 1,938,937Sheffield Dec. 12, 1933 1,988,371 Chance Jan. 15, 1935 2,110,760 DeVooys Mar. 8, 1938 2,139,047 Tromp Dec. 6, 1938 2,347,264 Holt et alApr. 25, 1944 2,365,734 Tromp Dec. 26, 1944 2,486,682 Ridley Nov. 1,1949

